


Ayurnamat

by theshimmydean



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, Post Episode: s07e05 The Angels Take Manhattan, Series 7, Spoilers for Episode: s07e05 The Angels Take Manhattan, doctor who - Freeform, the ponds - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2013-06-24
Packaged: 2017-12-15 23:50:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/855398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theshimmydean/pseuds/theshimmydean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Ayurnamat - The philosophy that there is no point in worrying about events that cannot be changed.)</p>
<p>River Song visits the Doctor after he loses the Ponds in Manhattan</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ayurnamat

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from Tumblr

The TARDIS looked different. She hadn’t done that since his last regeneration. Before, her colors were warm reds, yellows, and oranges. Now, blue lights flashed and illuminated the cold, silver interior of the ship. _How fitting,_ the Doctor thought. Amelia Pond had taken the warmth and radiance of the sun with her. All that was left was the bony interior. It’s not that he didn’t like the new look. _Always looking good, you sexy thing,_ he thought as gently patted the console.

“I would say that brooding and pensive isn’t a good look on you but, quite frankly, I like all of your looks.”

The Doctor looked over his shoulder briefly and then back to the TARDIS’s screen. “River.” A pair of sinfully high heels clacked their way to the spot where he stood. Soft hands placed themselves on his shoulders, firm yet cautious. “You’re back for a reason, I suppose.”

River chuckled softly in his ear. “Do I need a reason to visit my husband?” she asked playfully.

A smile almost reached his lips but he pushed it away. “If we’re going on past experience, I would bet on yes.”

“Never miss a thing, you don’t,” River replied, the lightness in her voice disappearing. “Came to check on you, as I’m sure you guessed.”

The Doctor sighed and ran a hand through his hair. River loved the way it looked when he did that but not usually what he said after. “I’m fine, River. We’ve been through this. I’m not some hatchling that’s fallen out of the nest.”

“No,” River admitted. “I’ll give you that. I do think that you’re trying to fly a little too far.”

Finally, he turned around and his eyes met hers. Ancient, terrible, wonderful, _lonely_ eyes. It didn’t last long. He had to look away. “Are we done speaking in riddles? It gets tiring, believe it or not. Even for me.”

River sat down next to him. “You’re trying to go back to them, aren’t you?”

“Is that a question?”

“Not really.”

There was a long silence between them. This happened a lot as of late, it seemed. It saddened both of them but they never got around to talking about it. There was too much in those silences that they preferred to leave untouched.

“I’ve done it before, River. I’ve been on adventures with them. We saved an entire spaceship full of dinosaurs two days ago. And I can go back again. See them again.” The Doctor got up and started pacing. He did that a lot when he was frustrated, River noticed.

“Maybe you can. Go back to before New York. But you can never truly go back to them. Not in the way you want to.”

Fire flashed in his eyes as he turned back to her. “Why not? I am the Last Time Lord in all of existence! Time obeys _my_ command. It bends to _my_ will! Why can’t I go back and see my friends? Why can’t I go back and stop Rory from going to get coffee? None of that, none of _this_ , would ever have happened! I can change this. I can bring them back. Who are you to say that I can’t?”

River looked up at him from where she sat. “Your wife. Their daughter. A child of the TARDIS.” The Doctor stared at her for a moment, fuming, and then slammed his fist against the wall. “It’s a fixed point in time, love. You said it yourself. You know as well as I that, no matter what you or I did, they would end up in the graveyard. You may be a Time Lord but even you can’t keep time on a leash.”

Another silence.

“How are they?”

River smiled sadly. “Doing very well. They miss you. Speak of you often. But they are happy, Doctor. Very happy.”

Another almost-smile and still no words from the man who stood before her. Knowing that there wasn’t anything else to say, River stood and walked to his side. She kissed him on the lips, letting the touch linger a moment. She walked towards the door of the TARDIS and paused. “Time machine or not, the past is never a good place for anyone to linger. Not even for a Time Lord.”

 And with that, the Doctor was alone once more.


End file.
